Stuart Barnes: Scarlets never looked likely to end hoodoo

The French side produce a performance of balance, combining power play upfront with panache across the back, to end Scarlets' European hopes

Yesterday Northampton did what they had to do and ended Castres' unbeaten run
to top their pool and give themselves a home quarter-final in Europe. Today
the Scarlets were unable to achieve a similar away victory. In 10 visits to
Perpignan by Welsh teams, all have come away empty-handed. To give
themselves a shot of staying in the tournament, the Scarlets had to break
that hoodoo. From just about the first minute, it never looked likely.

Perpignan produced a performance of beautiful balance. The traditional power
of their pack was massively in evidence, but it was the panache of the back
line that really caught the eye.

Tenth in the French league, it may be that this lowly position has sharpened
their focus on this year's Heineken Cup. Nobody will want to play them when
they travel to Barcelona and have what will seem like all of Catalonia
cheering them